Catalyze

Yesterday I devoted the morning to prayer.  Not boring prayer, but active prayer.  It was amazing, you should try it sometime if you don’t already!

After waking up and getting ready, I began thinking about what I could do.  In less than a minute realized there wasn’t even enough time in this day to do the things that were coming to mind.  Then I said out loud “there’s so many things I want to do Lord”, and within a heartbeat His answer came back to the depths of my mind, “but only one thing is needed.”  I remembered Martha and Mary, with Martha worried and upset about “many things,” and Mary sitting at the Master’s feet listening to His Words…the choice that was better.  I felt a rush of delight that my God would speak so intimately to me, beckoning me to come hang out with Him with no agenda but to listen.  So I drove to my favorite place of prayer: Bald Peak.

I relaxed there for about 2 hours, listening and responding to the Holy Spirit…allowing my mind to wander, and meeting Him there in those places where it rested…allowing His still, small voice to lead me down forest trails and along sweeping fields, showing me wonders and teaching me truths.  At one point, I felt compelled to remain in a specific place at the edge of an immensely large field of seed-grass.  For the first 10-minutes or so I just stood there doing nothing, letting my mind slow down to make room for stillness.  Then the dialogue began.

He showed me all kinds of amazing things that were happening all around me.  I studied the grass itself, rich-green and strong coming out of the dry earth in healthy tufts.  I pondered that each blade of grass is intricately woven together and joined with others at the microscopic level by forces of Creation that He set in motion in millennia past, yet sustains through processes that scientists fumble to understand like Kindergartners.  The grasses within feet from my eyes were absolutely magnificent all by themselves, and as I lifted my gaze to their neighbors, and the whole field, and the trees and blue sky and mountains in the background, I was speechless with wonder.  “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you–you of little faith?”

Then there were the living things.  The longer I remained, the more accustomed to me they became; and came out of their hiding.  First the insects, small flying things.  I had no idea what they were, but they were flying in & out & above the grasses.  They were aware of each other also.  It became obvious that they were doing things in the grass, either giving to it or taking from it, and then rising to the open air above in small groupings like school-girls gathering to talk about their latest crush.  Then there were the spiders.  Tiny arachnids of varying shapes & sizes, all around me spinning miniscule tracers between the stalks.  I expected them to erect circular webs, but did not see any…they seemed content to weave their minute ribbons from the tip of one to the other like miniature tightropes.  One spider, after spinning and stretching about 8-inches across to the nearest stalk, waited there for several minutes.  I watched it, waiting to see what it would do next.  It just sat there, making some little movements, resting I suppose.  I wondered what kind of role this tiny aerial performer might have in the field of grass, what food the Father would provide for it and whose food it might become.  Then I saw the birds.  Compact aviators, smaller than my hand, flitted through the field and into the canopy of weeds & trees behind me…small and fast enough to catch their prey.  They seemed oblivious to me and sang their songs to each other, to the world around them, and to the Creator who animates them.  All of these things were magnificent to me, and I remembered the other half of the Master’s words, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

As I walked away from that place, I reflected on some of the things I had accomplished in this life, and also the worries and anxieties that I carry.  I prayed for deliverance of the effects of stress…of unwanted pressure that so often accompanies my efforts at doing, and builds-up over time like vast, heavy waters behind a dam that someday might burst.  I also thought about some of the things that lie before me, goals I want to achieve and experiences I want to have.  I asked the Father to grant me faithfulness in doing them, but it fell flat.  He gently reminded me that faithfulness doesn’t just mean doing the right actions out of the place of faith… It starts much earlier.  Faithfulness is being so full-of-faith to begin with that one is ready for whatever circumstances may come. The results are not the point, the posture is.  His consolation, and relief, is not that He enables us to do all that we want; but that He redirects our passions and desires toward our daily communion with Him; allowing His fullness to replace whatever achievements we thought we might need in the first place.

The birthplace of faithfulness his prayer – Cultivating intimacy with the Father to build such a strong foundation of trust and companionship that nothing in this world can touch me; and I end up doing what He & I both desire.

“Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.” (CS Lewis) 

“A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord.” (Proverbs 19:3)

These two quotes reflect a universal truth that applies to all of humanity; it’s woven into our instincts, as glorious spiritual beings who are created in God’s Image, yet critically flawed and shackled to this fallen world. It is said that about 70% of Americans “believe in God,” yet by a cursory glance at our social ills one could hardly believe it (and the stats aren’t any better for those who attend religious services, by the way). One of the culprits for this is that many believers don’t understand what holiness is. It’s one thing to believe that God exists out there somewhere, and that we can visit Him for favors in holy places with holy people; it’s quite another reality to actually agree with Him, love Him, and pursue Him in a holy relationship even though we’re far from perfect.  This distinction is huge…it’s about the heart.

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians; who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” (Brennan Manning)

This prophetic warning to God’s would-be followers were penned decades ago by a Franciscan priest, who lamented at the false witness that God’s people were offering to the watching world.  I would argue that, although many circumstances have changed, the preoccupation of Christians with worldly pursuits continues to grossly outpace the truth and love which they purport to believe.  Wouldn’t you think that those who call themselves by Christ’s Name would resemble Him?

This is what happens when religion swallows relationship with God…
…Church is seen as a location, rather than a people
…Spirituality is fractured into the Sacred and Profane, rather than the holistic pursuit of life’s fullness
…Jesus role in our lives is limited to “Savior,” rather than “Lord”

I think that the message of HOLINESS has been lost on recent generations of America’s Christians.  I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, in the decades that followed a cultural revolution of expression.  Among other things, we were rebelling against the overly-strict & constrictive morality of older Christians…and the pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme, hasn’t it?  Now, many would-be Jesus-followers are afraid to authentically identify with Him for fear that they’ll offend somebody…focusing on the ethereal arena of “beliefs”, rather than any type of commitment that would obligate them to walk against the strong currents of popular culture. So what we have is whole generations of people who are deeply conflicted about their faith.  In their heart of hearts, believing the message about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; yet tied to their preferences and allegiances with the world around them to the extent that it doesn’t make much difference.

In His teaching about the seed of the Word of God, Jesus said “the seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature” (Luke 8:14).

I believe with all my heart that God can be trusted, that His promises & blessings are real and available to us today.  Yet, unlike the free gift of salvation for Heaven after we die, the things that we want from Him in this life are tied to our relationship with Him.  We must always remind ourselves that He is not there to make us happy.  That is a lie.  The truth is that He is the Master and we are the servants, and His fullness (love, joy, peace patience, etc.) is ours only when we fully acquiesce it to Him.  This is called holiness. The Bible word for holiness literally means to be “set apart for sacred use.”

Our trouble is that we tend to want all the good stuff that God offers, but without the part where we set aside our self-determination.  Sorry, that doesn’t work.  But He works!  Trust Him today!

“Taste and see that the Lord is good;blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.Fear the Lord, you his holy people,for those who fear him lack nothing.”(Psalm 34:8-9)

Love is the most supremely important thing in the world, isn’t it? We write songs about it, lay awake at night longing for it, strategize ways of obtaining it; but it’s true nature and purpose remain elusive and counter-intuitive to most of us.

Love is largely misunderstood.  Billboards, media & music tend to cast it as romantic or sexual. Self-help pundits and counselors promote it as prescriptive and therapeutic to our emotional ailments.  Celebrities and the popular elite hijack it and give it to their rich and beautiful friends, creating blissful relational destinations in a virtual-reality free of the plight of those who have less.

Most Americans don’t understand love because we’ve listened to the wrong voices.  This is why we get caught-up in vain pursuits that don’t produce what we’re looking for.  We’re saturated by images and narratives that make bold promises but deliver loneliness and disillusionment.  This is why so many end-up disappointed, dejected, and discouraged…believing that love has failed them.  I would say that it was not love that they were seeing & seeking, but only mirages that left them thirsty.

When we chase the wrong things, we end-up in unforeseen places where we do not belong.  Each of us is created by our Heavenly Father – who IS LOVE – for love… but we’re constantly being deceived and drawn-away from it by misleading counterfeits.  So what is love?  To find it, we have to forget everything the world has taught us, so that we can rediscover what God says it is.  Here are some examples from my favorite paraphrase of the Bible, called “The Message”:

“Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.” (1 Corinthians 13) 

“My dear friends, don’t let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, “Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!” and either ignore the street person or say, “Better sit here in the back row,” haven’t you segregated God’s children and proved that you are judges who can’t be trusted? Listen, dear friends. Isn’t it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God. And here you are abusing these same citizens! Isn’t it the high and mighty who exploit you, who use the courts to rob you blind? Aren’t they the ones who scorn the new name—“Christian”—used in your baptisms? You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: “Love others as you love yourself.” But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. You can’t pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God’s law and ignoring others.” (James 2) 

”My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. “ (1 John 3) 

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.  In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” (Matthew 5)

“If the Lord is with us, why has all this [misfortune] happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord [deliver us]?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us…”

The words above could have been written yesterday, mirroring the spiritual skepticism of our age; but they were uttered almost 3,200 years ago, as recorded in the early part of the Old Testament book of Judges, by a man named Gideon…just before God showed up, did some crazy miraculous stuff, and changed reality.  They key was Gideon’s belief.

For the most part, American Christians no longer believe in miracles…apparently.  There are a few reasons why.  Part of this, indeed, is because of the immature and impostering few who have made a mockery of God for the rest of us clean-up.  Admittedly, some of us reading this (or writing this) have been willingly or unwillingly part of this…so let’s keep our pointing fingers to ourselves.  Another big reason is fear.  Fear of criticism & rejection by the world we want desperately to identify with…too desperately.  Another one is confusion of God’s role.  We seem to have this unrelentingly skewed perspective that’s God is there to make us happy…that our fulfillment and safety is His end-game.  What we see in scripture and history, however, is that God’s most amazing interventions are about His will, not ours; and He sees all of history with one glance, so His perspective is a bit different.  When we partner with what He is doing, THEN we get to be part of the extraordinary.

Contrary to what you’ve been led to believe by the world around us; God is not dead, but very much alive and active!  The thing is, our perceptions of what is real and compelling are dependent upon what we expose ourselves to…and what we allow to gain dominion over our reasoning.  Are your opinions more informed by media and popular thought, or by God’s timeless wisdom and ways?  Are you reticent to admit that God works miracles because you believe that He cannot temporarily subvert the laws of nature, or because you don’t want to be made to look foolish for hoping?

Lack of trust in God’s desire to/ability to work wonders in the plane of human existence has always had a dampening effect on it.  Even Jesus admitted that He was unable to do many miracles in the small town he grew-up in because of peoples’ lack of faith.  I think that many of us who call ourselves by the Name of Christ, don’t often live as though we actually believe He is still walking with us and desiring to do His work among us today.  Largely, we’ve adopted the critical heart of our culture and try to keep it hidden away while going through the motions of Christianity just in case He actually shows up.  Perhaps that’s too harsh?

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

The Greek word “unbeliever” here is “ápistos” – from “a”-“not” and “pistós” – “faithful.” Properly, not faithful because unpersuaded, i.e. not convinced.  So the Bible isn’t talking about people who don’t call themselves Christians or go to church….it’s talking about people who don’t live like they really believe.  It’s a good thing this is a journey, right?

• “Why doesn’t God do miracles anymore?”
• “Why aren’t there prophets or epic stories like in ancient times?”
• “Why does it seem like, when I’m reading the Bible, that I’m reading fairy-tales that are detached from real life…those things just don’t happen anymore.  Where is God now?”

Have thoughts like this ever come to your mind?  Have you ever said them?  I have.  So have my children.  In fact, my inquisitive son has asked me these very questions on more than one occasion…usually accompanied by an eye-roll that corresponded to his age when asking.  But that was before he encountered the Lord for himself, and had the choice of believing on the basis of his own observations & thoughts as he grew older.

Is there really, truly a God?  Or is IT just a projection of human longing & meaning that manifests itself as all the various religions throughout the world’s regions & histories.  If the God of the Bible really is there, can He handle our questions?  Is His ego big enough to accept our inquiries?  Are the histories of His works as recorded in the ancient scriptures reliable enough to survive the fire of investigation? I am one who has asked all of these questions, and continue to aggressively search for answers, even to this day.  I can say with confidence that I believe wholeheartedly that the Biblical stories are true, reliable, and prescriptive.  I also believe that the miracles & meanings that characterized God’s activity in ancient times continue today.  I believe it theologically, because Jesus and His followers (and their followers) experienced it and said that it would continue; and I believe it because I see it with my own eyes, hear about it from people I know and trust, and learn crazy/impossible/wonderful stuff happening all over the world all the time!

There are many alternatives to the explanation that there really is One True God – Yahweh of the Jews; the God of the Patriarchs, Judges, Kings, and Prophets, as recorded in what we today call the Old Testament.  The God and Father of Jesus Christ; the Fulfiller of Prophecies who claimed to be God’s Son, miracle worker and healer, controversial teacher and leader of a Spiritual Rebellion against religious hypocrisy & greed…Who inspired the writing of the New Testament and catapulted the greatest movement of faith, hope & love the world has ever known (or will ever know).  But yes, there are many alternative explanations and paths.  There is always choice in belief…what’s important is to only go where truth and love collide.

I’m tired of listening to people give convincing arguments for why the Bible can’t be taken literally.  I wonder what will happen if, instead of getting blown-over by the wind; we decide to take God at His word, lean into it, and believe Him to show up in ways that He promises.  That’s the journey of faith, let’s do it.

Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:11-14)

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” (James 5:13-18)

I have lots of opportunities to spend time with Jesus People of all sorts. Church pastors & preachers, para-church & non-profit leaders, lay leaders who have normal jobs, and church-goers who simply want to understand and follow Jesus in their own lives somehow.  One thing that I see consistently & constantly in just about all of them is some level of confusion regarding what we’re supposed to be aiming for by gathering together…namely, what is “CHURCH?”

“He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” (Mark 7:6-8)

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20) 

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25) 

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

I want to know what God wants me to do.  I want to know what’s coming, and I know that He knows already.  Do you think God wants us to know in advance what things will happen to us, and give us knowledge that will help us to experience goodness and to avoid pain?  Why would someone who knew something valuable not share it with a person for whom knowing could produce some benefit?  I think that the Creator has different definitions and values than we Creatures do, and one of the words we confuse is this word “knowing.”  Did you knowtice how many times I used it?  I knew you would….ok I’ll stop.

When we think of the word “know,” we think of thinking thoughts about facts & information…that’s how we think of knowledge…cold, arbitrary, emotionless.  That’s the Western-ness in us.  But in the language of the Bible – which is decidedly not Western – there are different words for knowing, they have colorful and varied meanings and they lead to different places than the territory of the intellect.

For example…

In Matthew 9:4, when it says that Jesus “knew” the peoples’ thoughts about Him, the word translated “knew” is οἶδα – eídō (oida) – to see with physical eyes, as it naturally bridges to the metaphorical sense: perceiving (“mentally seeing”). This is akin to the expressions: “I see what You mean”; “I see what you are saying.”  This is the closest parallel to our Western definition of “knowing.”

But all throughout scripture, we see another, deeper definition of knowing that is anything but cold, arbitrary, emotionless.  It’s more relational and committal…often intensely so.  What or whom you “know” represents something about you, your character, and your values.  This is also not like us at all.  We hold information as a commodity that we either have or do not have, and when we have it we own it.  This is not how knowledge was viewed by Jesus, His followers, the Jews, or anyone who has pursued God honestly throughout the ages.  Godly knowledge is not about information, it’s about relation.  Here’s a stunning example that may stop you in your tracks…

In Matthew 1:25, when describing how Joseph did not make love with his wife Mary until after she had given birth to Jesus, the phrase translated in NIV as “have sexual relations” or “consummate their marriage” is actually the single word γινώσκω – ginṓskō – properly, to know, especially through personal experience (first hand acquaintance).  This carries forward the ancient Old Testament Hebrew use of the term “Yada”/ “to know.” (יָדַע).  Have you ever heard someone say something like “He knew her in the Biblical sense.”  Yeah, that kind of know! My favorite Bible passage of all time has this word:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).  The word translated “acknowledge” is KNOW….in the Biblical sense.  So what in the heck is this supposed to mean for us, practically, today?

It’s obvious that this is not about sex; though there is certainly a component to human sexuality that is tied to an overwhelming sense of “knowing” another person, yes?  And in-so-far as sex is not a logical or intellectual endeavor, but one characterized by desire & passion & union, our relationship with God is meant to embody this level of pursuit and fulfillment.

Let that sink in.

When was the last time You felt so enraptured by God’s love for you that you literally felt like you were going to blow up?  Has your awareness of His workings in & through your life been so heightened and acute that you temporarily lost sight of other things?  Have you experienced such a depth of His strength and care and peace that all you could do was just lay there dumbstruck in the afterglow and say thank you?

Ok, sorry if that made you uncomfortable, but not really, I hope it caused you to pause and reflect on Your relationship with Your God the Almighty…the Bridegroom who is preparing a place for His Bride and even today wooing her to Him….wooing you.  Have you ever considered that the story of the Bible is not primarily a record of laws and moral obligations, but the love story of our relentless Father who moves heaven & earth to redeem our union with Him?

So after all that, I come back to my first paragraph about how we want God to give us knowledge about what’s coming and what we should do.  But when we look through His eyes, in terms of His continued pursuit of each one of us with a love we can’t really comprehend, it’s clear that our circumstances are not the point…HE, AND OUR UNION WITH HIM, IS THE POINT!  I don’t mean this to diminish the brokenness of our world and the pain that so many of us endure; but if this world truly is not our home, and making it out of here alive is not reality, then why do we so often chase-the-mirage like it is?  Walking in daily KNOWING with God is the point of this life and the next…everything else flows out of this fullness of union.

“Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will KNOW [GINOSKO] the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:31-32) 

“I am the good shepherd; I KNOW [GINOSKO] my sheep and my sheep KNOW [GINOSKO]  me— just as the Father KNOWS [GINOSKO] me and I KNOW [GINOSKO] the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never KNEW [GINOSKO] you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23) 

“In all your ways, KNOW [YADA] Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:6)

• “If I watch this…
• “If I eat these…
• “If I manipulate these circumstances…
• “If I indulge in…
• “If I am noticed and admired by…
• “If I get this promotion…
• “If I make this money…
• “If I can be more successful than….
• “If I buy this…
• “If I sleep with…“If I drive that…
• …THEN I will be happy!”

“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (Romans 8:5-11)

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:13-25)

“Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man [or woman] of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:6-12)

For this morning’s blog, I’m going to share some words with you that are totally blowing my mind.  I don’t usually parrot the words of another writer in my blogs, but I just had to share this brief excerpt from an amazing book I’m reading right now called “The Forgotten Way” by Ted Dekker.  You may be familiar with Dekker as a popular novelist; but this non-fiction treatise about following Jesus is as honest, vulnerable, and true to scripture as anything else I’ve come across.  It’s a series of deeply scriptural meditations, preceded by his personal testimony of finding Intimacy and Identity with Christ.  I’m reading it as part of my own personal devotions right now, and wanted to pass this along to you to strengthen your journey with Him.  I welcome your comments…

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? …How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:7, 9-11)

“The prophet Ezekiel was among the first to write about a radical personal encounter with God, high and lifted up.  His writing shook the religious establishment of his day.  How could God be encountered so directly outside of the Temple, and without the help of a priest?  More, how could God be described in such strange terms, as a wheel within a wheel?

Still, many people longed to have a relationship with God like the one he described.  To know God so directly – so personally – made the establishment as nervous then as it has throughout history and still does today.  How can this be?  A deep, personal relationship with God, not with dogma or with institutionalized religion, is at the heart of Christianity.  The wall between mankind and God, erected by the church and heavily reinforced for over a thousand years, began to crumble during the Reformation.  Many periods of renewal and revelation in the five hundred years since have further demolished that wall of separation.  Perhaps the most significant one occurred in the early 1900s, when explosive personal encounters with God defied the traditions of men.  The movement to know God experientially continues to accelerate today as more and more believers find true peace and love and power.  Such gifts come only from knowing God INTIMATELY and sharing His divine nature through IDENTITY in Christ…

Has any church more fully experienced the power of the gospel than the one that first embraced Jesus’ Spirit in the twenty years following His resurrection?  This church did not have any of the gospels or the epistles to argue about or defend.  And yet perhaps far more than we, its members lived and breathed the power of ‘being in Christ’ on earth.  Those sacred writings that we now have are called the Scriptures, and they point to Christ, but they are not the Word who is Christ and Christ manifested in us.  Let us worship Christ alone, not the words or the religious dogmas that point to Him.  If we worship doctrine, we will have unwittingly made a god out of something other than God.  Then we will not understand our need to KNOW (experience) Him intimately.  We will be no different from the religious leaders during the time of Jesus who would not yield to Him.

Take comfort, because we know, as Jesus said, that God reveals Himself to children, so His way must be simple.  We know that His yoke (His interpretation) is easy and His burden (what is required to follow that interpretation) is light.  So we look for the good news of the Father in a simple story, and we become like children so that we may know the Father.”

Dictionary.com definitions….

INTIMACY – A close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group.  A close association with or detailed knowledge or deep understanding of a place, subject, period of history, etc.

IDENTITY – The state or fact of remaining the same one or ones, as under varying aspects or conditions. The condition of being oneself or itself, and not another… the qualities, beliefs, etc., that distinguish or identify a person or thing.

I woke up this morning with the words of this scripture running through my mind:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)